Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment HMRC made of the administrative burden on accountancy and tax practices of implementing multi-factor authentication requirements for agent services accounts.

HMRC worked very closely with agent representative bodies to understand how best to introduce multi-factor authentication (MFA) to minimise burdens for the agent community. The timing and method of implementation were developed with representative bodies, alongside the support agents needed to prepare for MFA activation.

MFA provides an important additional layer of protection, to help prevent unauthorised access if the agent’s sign-in details are compromised

MFA is already used to protect Government Gateway accounts for individuals and organisations and is a familiar security measure across major digital services, including online banking, email, social media and online shopping

Extending this protection to agent accounts is a proportionate response to evolving online threats and helps to safeguard agents’ accounts and the sensitive information they hold on behalf of their clients.